The invention relates to a locking device, in particular for doors, tailgates, trunk lids or the like.
DE 42 28 235 A1 discloses a locking device. In this locking device, the pawl is designed as a two-armed locking lever and can pivot about an axis of rotation. One lever arm of the pawl is provided with a driver and a detent. When the vehicle door is closed, the detent of the pawl engages in a detent of a rotary catch, the inner leg of which engages behind a locking bolt fixed to the body. The other lever arm of the pawl is directed obliquely upward and has a contact surface on its end section. The first arm of the lever of the locking device is directed downward and has on its end a projection with a driving surface and an angular surface. The second arm of the lever is arranged approximately horizontally and has a widened portion on its end, the inner surface of which widened portion is designed as a contact surface. An actuating rod of the locking device acts on the axis of rotation of the lever. This actuating rod is guided in a guide and is supported relative to the lever via a leg spring.
In the functional position xe2x80x9cunlockedxe2x80x9d, the lever is displaced upward in parallel by pulling the actuating rod in the upward direction and pivots the pawl clockwise via the driving surface and the driver, as a result of which the spring-loaded rotary catch is released counterclockwise.
Such an arrangement has the disadvantage that the pivot of the lever is displaced on account of the upward movement of the actuating rod, as a result of which the pivot shifts on account of this upward movement, but the accurate position of the pivot is required for the unlocking. In order to ensure exact orientation of the driving surface and the angular surface on the projection of the first arm of the lever, since these surfaces engage behind the driver on the pawl and the pawl is thus actuated, the positions of the pawl and the lever must be matched to one another very accurately, since driving is to be effected in the functional position xe2x80x9cunlockedxe2x80x9d; however, this driving, by disengagement, is not to be effected in the functional position xe2x80x9ccentrally lockedxe2x80x9d. Therefore the actuating rod, which carries the pivot of the lever at its end, must also be mounted and guided very accurately, so that the two positions of the lever can perform the corresponding functions on the pawl. In addition to very accurate guidance of the actuating rod, this also requires a correspondingly solid design of the actuating rod and its guide, so that this construction is very expensive and heavy.
The object of the invention is therefore to provide a locking device of the type described at the beginning which is of more effective construction while retaining the functional positions described.
According to the invention, provision is made for the at least one lever to be mounted about a fixed pivot, at least one grip acting on the lever, which is formed as an actuating lever. The arrangement of a fixed pivot, about which the lever is rotatably mounted, has the advantage that this pivot may already be provided in a housing of the locking device and does not change, the lever merely being slipped onto this pivot, so that the assembly is also simplified. With regard to the movement of the lever, this lever only performs a rotary movement, so that there is only one degree of freedom for the lever, as a result of which the latter can be set in a precisely defined manner. This precisely defined setting is effected between at least two positions, one position being fixed by a fixed stop. This stop may in turn also be provided in the housing of the locking device. Conceivable at this point are also two levers, which are pivotable about the same fixed pivot or different fixed pivots, in each case a grip (such as, for example, a door exterior handle and a door interior handle) acting on each lever. If there is only one lever with a grip, this type of locking device can be used in a trunk lid or a tailgate of a vehicle, where only an external actuation is required.
In a development of the invention, the actuating lever has two ends, which are connected to one grip each via connecting elements, in particular actuating rods. These two ends are arranged approximately symmetrically to the pivot of the actuating lever, the grip, designed as door interior handle or as door exterior handle, acting on one end in each case, so that, by means of the locking device according to the invention, which is arranged in a door or the like of the vehicle, this door can be opened from both the inside and outside.
In a development of the invention, elongated holes, in which pins of the connecting elements are longitudinally movable, are made in the ends of the actuating lever. This design has the advantage that, when one grip is actuated, the other grip is not moved with it and vice versa.
In a development of the invention, a coupling lever movable by an actuator is arranged on the pawl or on the actuating lever. This coupling lever causes the force-transmission path between a grip and the pawl to be closed or interrupted, so that, when the force-transmission path is closed, the actuation of a grip also produces an actuation of the pawl. When the force-transmission path is interrupted, an actuation of a grip effects an idle stroke of the actuating lever, so that the pawl cannot be actuated by means of the actuating lever. The actuator is activated as a function of a setting desired by an operator of the vehicle, in which case the operator, for example via a remote control or via a locking cylinder or other means, can bring the locking device into the functional positions xe2x80x9cunlockedxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9ccentrally lockedxe2x80x9d or also into the functional position xe2x80x9csecured against theftxe2x80x9d.
In a development of the invention, the coupling lever can be moved by the actuator via a lever system. This lever system enables the pawl to be actuated by both grips in the functional position xe2x80x9cunlockedxe2x80x9d; if the functional position xe2x80x9ccentrally lockedxe2x80x9d is set, the lever system enables the pawl to be actuated by means of the actuation of the door interior handle, but not during actuation of the door exterior handle.
In a development of the invention, the lever system has two levers restrained relative to one another. This design of the lever system with two levers movable as a function of one another or independently of one another has the advantage that both the functional position xe2x80x9cunlockedxe2x80x9d and the functional position xe2x80x9ccentrally lockedxe2x80x9d can thus be realized. The preloading of the two levers relative to one another is realized in particular with a retaining spring, which is to be arranged around a pivot of the two levers in a small construction space. Instead of a spring acting on both levers, springs (tension or compression springs) which are separate from one another may also be used, and these springs each act on one of the levers.
In a development of the invention, the first lever of the lever system is connected to a grip, in which case, in a further refinement of the invention, the second lever can be set via a control disk, which can be driven by the actuator, in particular an electric motor. This ensures that at least one lever of the lever system can always be actuated during an actuation of a grip (in particular the door interior handle), so that it is always possible in the two functional positions xe2x80x9cunlockedxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d to leave the vehicle from the interior space by actuating the door interior handle. Via the control disk, which is brought into various positions by the actuator, it is now possible to move the second lever of the lever system in such a way that an actuation of the other grip (in particular the door exterior handle) in the functional position xe2x80x9cunlockedxe2x80x9d leads to opening of the door, and this grip performs an idle stroke in the functional position xe2x80x9ccentrally lockedxe2x80x9d and the door cannot be opened. Suitable means (for example switches, potentiometers or the like) detect when a desired position of the control disk is reached, and the actuator is accordingly switched off when the desired position of the latter is reached.
Further refinements of the locking device according to the invention are specified in the remaining subclaims, from which the corresponding advantages result.
In a further refinement of the invention, the pawl has an end on which a locking cylinder acts, so that, by means of the actuation of the locking cylinder via a key, it is always possible, for example in the event of a failure of the actuator or a malfunction of an element of the locking device (for example jamming), to open the door from outside (or also from inside if the locking cylinder is attached in the interior space of the vehicle).